The Sächsische Staatskapelle, orchestra of the famous Dresden Semperoper gives a sample of its masterly interpretations of early 20th century music. Here they present Richard Strauss Alpensinfonie under their popular, former chief conductor Giuseppe…

Introducing Masterpieces of Classical Music is an informative and entertaining guide to some of the most important symphonic works of music history. As well as featuring a complete concert performance it also includes an insightful documentary, in…

With this, his only Bach recording, Herbert Blomstedt pays homage to Bach and the city of Leipzig. The DVD was recorded in 2005 at the Leipzig Bach Festival, which is widely regarded as the world’s leading festival celebrating Johann Sebastian Bach…

Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, composed between 1861 and 1868, continues to inspire musicians and audiences to this day. His requiem is addressed to the living, who are to be offered comfort in this world and freed from fear of death. This…

Conducting Mahler : The film documents the interpretations of Gustav Mahler's compositions by conductors Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle, who detail the special relationship they have with Mahler's…

We live in a “renaissance of the piano”, as the New York Times so surprisingly put it in summer 2005. A new generation is reviving the piano’s popularity as pianists with a passion for virtuosity and a willingness to expand their repertoire take to…

LEGATO is a DVD series dedicated to presenting some of the most fascinating of today’s younger generation pianists - their development, their ideas and, of course, their music. Each DVD in this series presents an artist and explores an aspect of the…

Verdi first presented his Messa da Requiem in the Church of San Marco. It was his emotional response to the death of the Italian national poet Alessandro Manzoni. He poured his entire dramatic skill, the fruit of thirty years of theatrical work, into…

Ton Koopman, a leading authority on Baroque music, gathered his favourite orchestra and eminent Baroque singers for a concert focusing on the Magnificat, the traditional prayer said by the Virgin Mary after hearing that she would bear God’s son. Bach…

In Offenbachs's Secret, Academy Award winning director István Szabó throws new light on the timeless interplay between power, helplessness, courage and conformity in his character studies of two of the most scintillating personalities of France's…